"But I cannot lie idle under attack. I no longer have my great ion-guns, my disruptors, my energy screens; but I have my fighting instinct. "

"A Mark XXXI Combat Unit is the finest fighting the ancient wars of the Galaxy have ever known. I am not easily neutralized..."
(Read more about Bolo tanks)

In our time, though, we're just watching the development of these tank-treaded autonomous weapon systems.

For example, Kalashnikov's BAS-01G Соратник (Soratnik - meaning "companion") is a seven ton robotic vehicle that will carry a machine gun and antitank missiles. Most importantly, it also is capable of operating on its own, with some degree of autonomy.

(Соратник (Soratnik - meaning "companion"))

Soratnik is fitted with a 7.62mm Kalashnikov PKTM machine gun that can be swapped out for a 12.7mm heavy machine gun, grenade launchers and up to eight Kornet guided missiles with a range of three miles.

Russia has further plans to create a "big brother" to Soratnik, a 20-ton robotic tank on a par with the U.S. Army's M1126 Stryker ICV.